Elrond
'I wish to see the king.' The words felt strange to my lips.
The Man looked me up and down once more, then nodded. 'One
moment.'
Upon entering the room, I noticed immediately how my brother had
changed. He... he was old. There were lines on his face, lines
which did not come easily to elves. His hair, though still colored,
had streaks of grey beginning to show. An elf never greyed.
But Elros was not an elf, and that was what I noticed most about
him. He was... He was a Man. I knew this, of course;
we had chosen our races long ago. But I had not seen him for many,
many years, and I had not realized that he had changed like this. I suppose, really, that his face had not changed that much aside from becoming
more lined, but it had. Perhaps it was the way he dressed, or the
crown of the kingdom of Men that adorned his head, or simply the way he
had aged... But whatever the reason, this was not my brother who
sat before me. And yet it was.
I managed a smile. 'Elros. I have missed you.'
Elros returned my smile easily, or so it appeared. 'Elros...
it is long since I have been called that. I am Tar-Minyatur now.'
'Tar-Minyatur...' I repeated, tasting it. Well, at least
it was still elvish. 'As you wish.'
And I did not show it, but what he had said then cut into me
deeper than any sword could.